


Pathological Secrets

by GolD_Ann



Category: One Piece
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Family Fluff, M/M, Nightmares, Visions in dreams
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:08:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21763498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GolD_Ann/pseuds/GolD_Ann
Summary: Always the same nightmares. If this keeps up, he will go crazy. How long til he breaks? How can he protect his family? After all he can't even save his own life.
Relationships: Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco/Portgas D. Ace
Comments: 6
Kudos: 21





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Okay it's my first time writing a story and English is not my best subject. 
> 
> So I'm sorry for my bad english ♡  
> And now the prologue starts.  
> (｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡

Silent pain 

~~"Thatch can we talk? In private .",asked the black-haired man in a serious voice.~~ ~~~~

¤

¤

¤

It was pitch black in the ship's kitchen. The clock striked midnight and everyone on Moby Dick was sleeping. All except Thatch. And that was no surprise. As a chef, he had to make sure that the kitchen was perfectly clean. After all over hundred people ate a couple of hours ago here to dinner. And then the entire kitchen became a mess. Thatch smiled. They were all a big family. He was happy to be a part of the Whitebeard pirates. 

_What should I cook for my family tommorow?_ , thought Thatch while cleaning the last table. Suddenly he heard footsteps. Curious who that might be, the fourth commander laid off the washcloth and looked to the door. In the same moment a very tall figure has gone through the door. 

It took Thatch a moment to figure out who was standing now in front of him. The hair of the tall man was disheveled and his eyes were dark. The man in front of him looked determined and...dangerous. Thatch got immediately goosebumps. 

The eyes of the fourth commander widened as he recognized one of his beloved brothers. It was Teach. 

The chef had to put himself together. He didn't know why, but everything in his body screamed to run. He felt a dark aura from Teach ...a malicious intent from his sworn brother. _This is stupid!_ _Why do I feel like this? It's only Teach!_

Nothing was wrong. It was only his brother. And he didn't seem to have gone to sleep. Not only that ...Thatch cursed himself. He should feel relieved! 

More over than three weeks Teach didn't wanted to leave his room and nobody knew why. Everyone was worried sick. And now Teach came out of his room from his own will. At midnight when everyone is asleep....

So Thatch should feel happy! He was worried too, after all. But why couldn't he get rid of this bad feeling inside him? 

He should be ashamed. What a brother is he? Pops would be dissapointed...

How dare he became suspicious about Teach? 

"You're looking good. And finally you came out of your room! " Thatch had to force himself to smile. His body wasn't listening to him anymore. Screw this damn feeling! As the fourth commander and an older brother Thatch would trust Teach his back without a second thought. So why is it so hard now? 

After a long silence Teach answered "I'm fine.   
Just caught a little cold, that's all. There's no need to visit Bay, I just needed some good rest. " he added quickly when he saw Thatchs worried face.   
"Well if you say so Teach. But next time go directly to Bay, okay? "replied the fourth commander with a serious look. Teach just laughed warmly at that.

Thatch smiled. This is the Teach he knew. His silly brother. Teach always got easily ill and was really kind. Wants to do everything on his own so he wouldn't bother anyone. He was definitely a good person. _That's our Teach!_

Thatch looked to the ground ashamed. Then why? Why was he feeling this weird? He really was a bad brother. He should trust Teach and not being suspicious about him in someway. And still he has a bad feeling ...how dare Thatch distrusts Teach?

"So why are you still awake? Shall I cook something for you? Actually a midnight snack gets one a bad stomachache, but since you didn't eat anything today..."offers the fourth commander kindly. 

"No thank you. I'm actually here for another reason. "said Teach and his eyes became dark. Thatch noticed how Teachs body got tenser and the bad feeling in Thatch was becoming even stronger now. _Stop it! Teach is not my enemy! He is my crewmate and a part of my beloved family!,_ silenced Thatch himself. Teach was for many decades a part of the Whitebeard crew, so why all of a sudden is Thatch feeling a malicious intent from Teach? It can't be. Thatch told himself that lately he had just reworked himself and that's why he is now imagining these things. 

Teach looked at him with a dangerous sparkle in the eyes. Again a sense of foreboding spreaded throughout Thatch's body. And again Thatch decided to just ignore this ridiculous feeling. Teach is probably asking for help and who is Thatch to refuse him? 

Unruly Thatch forces himself to calm down.   
" Okay. What's wrong? "said Thatch and breaks with that the suffocating silence.

Teach didn't answer immediately. He just stood there and watched the fourth commander intensely. Again Thatch got goosebumps. He shook his head to clear his mind. 

"Teach, what's wrong? You are acting strange. Are you not feeling well? Or did you got a nightmare and just want the comfort of your beloved big brother? " added Thatch jokingly.

Teach just narrowed his eyes and it was like he was saying _"Comfort yourself ,because I'm gonna be your worst nightmare!"_

Again there was silence and again Thatch had to force himself to smile. It was getting uncomfortable.

Thatch really needed rest and hoped to just forget this entire night. And his damn gut is telling him again that it will not be so easy to forget. 

"Thatch "finally Teach said in a surprisingly serious voice,"can we talk? In private. "He smiled as if he never have acted strange before. And Thatch just nodded at that. "S-Sure..."  
"In your room please." added Teach unexpectedly. 

"Why? "

"It will be easier for me. "

_What? Maybe he wants to talk to me about an embarrassing topic..._

"Okay." Thatch shrugged his shoulders. 

~~_**No!!!! Please don't go with him!!!** _ ~~

Thatch leads then without any other question Teach to his room. The bad feeling was still there and yet Thatch decided to trust his brother and do the right thing. He opened the door and entered it first. He didn't dared nor wanted to look behind his back. Sometimes the people say it's not bad to stay foolish. And that's why the fourth commander didn't notice how Teach grins and how Teachs hand touched his dagger at his hip. After Teach enters the room, the door closed suddenly and a sinister deadly silence fell.......until words lose their volume, weight falls on the ground and deadly laughter cames out of the room. 

~~_**Thatch!!!** _ ~~

¤

¤

¤

In the same moment another wakes up sweaty and found that it had been the same nightmare. 

Before the young man realized it, his blanket burned uncontrollably. And every breath he took was full of agony. 

The young pirate was worried and confused. His head was throbbing like crazy. His chest hurts as if his heart was bleeding to death from the inside. Suddenly he started to cough heavily. But he calmed down a few heartbeats later which seemed like an eternity to him.

He ignored the red liquid dripping from his jaw. 


	2. Everybody loves you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No I'm not dead I'm still alive Σ( ° △ °)  
> But my internet connection is about to die ヽ(｀⌒´)ノ
> 
> Since english isn't my best subject and I don't have a beta reader, there might be grama mistakes. I hope that you don't mind them and still be able to enjoy the chapter ♡

It was really hard for Ace to stand up from bed. He wasn't able to sleep a bit and his body refused to listen to him in any way. After that nightmare he never wanted to close his eyes ever again. _It was just a dream._

It was that simple. He had the same nightmare like always. Sighing, he finally managed to get up.   
He needed a shower badly.

After all, more than three weeks of nightmarish torture and his family was bound to notice that something was wrong. And that's the last thing he wanted.

That's why he had to make sure that he was in a good mood. Even if he had to pretend. For their sake... 

And for his own.

Ace was not stupid. As much as he wanted to deny the fact that dreams are real, deep inside his heart he knew the truth. It's the same warning like nine years ago. The same with his decayed brother he couldn't save... 

The freckled young man tensed. His eyes were burning. No matter how many times he told himself it's normal to have nightmares...

The truth hurt sometimes.   
No matter how hard he will try...

Thatch will die. 

It's cold-hearted to think something like that. Ace wasn't a person who would leave a brother behind... He would do and try everything... But if he knew that he would fail again...

He couldn't do this anymore. He was at his breaking point. 

He tried so hard and failed to save his brother.  
He failed. Why did he even think he could change anything? 

But could he really leave Thatch's life to his fate?  
He can't. He can't lose a brother again. He would rather die... 

But even if he really succeeded to save Thatch, in a twisted way, he betrayed his decayed brother for not doing enough for him. 

This thought of being able to save him nine years ago....would eat Ace alive.

He had to ignore this vision. Pretend and face the harsh reality. Or he will break. 

This was cruel. And he was betraying Thatch. _No matter what I do, I can't change the future. So... I don't have another choice_.

He kept telling himself the same lie over and over again.

With shaking legs the nineteen year old young man went to his bathroom.   
As a commander he has his own bathroom inside of his room. And that was saving his life. If he shared the bathroom with other people, it would be a really difficult task to keep everything a secret. He knew well, that he looked like shit.

Inside of the bathroom he closed completely the window and then he took his clothes off. He burned them completely. Nothing now was left of the clothes. It's not like he needed blood stained clothes anyway. 

His head was throbbing again. With uncertain steps he went to the shower. 

Suddenly he lost his balance and before he could fall to the ground he was able to lean himself on the wall. There was just one thought in his mind. _Deserved Thatch such a cruel fate?_

He couldn't shake the thought off anymore. It was making him sick. Ace wanted to save Thatch... _  
_

He had to get rid off that thought fast. His heart clenched painfully. He was sick and his body was in so much pain. But this one thought hurt him more than his stupid sickness. He could handle his sickness. But this thought was unbearable.

He turned the shower on. Cold water was now raining on him. It was refreshing. After all Ace was literally burning. 

Could he really save his friend? Would he really be able to change the future? And if he couldn't change the future, he would have at least tried, right? 

Ace lost himself in his thoughts and flames were now spreading from his body. 

Without being aware of losing his control over his power, he unconsciously declared war against the water. The cold liquid came in contact with the flaming hot fire and steam was born. The water was not enough to put the fire out or to get Ace back to reality.

Soon the entire bathroom was full with smokes and Ace had suddenly diffulties to breath. And that's when he finally realized what's happening. Thank God...he finally came back to his senses. He turned the shower off and put his flames out too. 

Now he searched the window, because the smoke was so thick. After a good while searching and trying not to smother, he opened the window and breathed greedy the fresh air. 

He smiled sadly. Salty water was still running down his cheeks. _It's just water and it won't stop..._

He ignored , that the water came from his eyes and not from the shower. 

  
What should he do? 

¤¤¤¤

The rest of the day was as usual. With the small exception that Ace almost hugged the fourth commander to death. And then he just walked away from the cafeteria, letting the stunned cook alone.

Actually he should enjoy every second with Thatch, but it's for him too much. It's too hard to hang out with his dear friend like he didn't knew his friend would die soon. This knowledge was fault, because Ace wasn't even able to look into Thatch's eyes. And the other reason for avoiding the fourth commander was non other than Teach himself. 

_Traitor! Cold-blooded murderer!_ , thought Ace with a lot of hatred. Somehow he still couldn't believe that Teach was planning to betray his family. The family ,who took him under their protection and cared about him. 

And he was once Ace's friend. A good friend. Ace still remembers how he always ate to lunch with him. And how Teach had a similar childhood to him. Ace always felt comfortable with Teach, because Teach was the only one who could understand him. 

The second commander was full of anger. Teach was his subordinate. But he was also a brother to Ace. They were really close. 

Someone said once, it's easy to know people's faces but not their hearts. Or in this case, their true intentions.... Teach pretended to be a part of the Whitebeard family. In truth he didn't care about anyone of the Whitebeards. But what was that toothless traitor after?

 _What is so important for you to kill your own brother?? Someone you knew over a decade and someone who cared and fed you everyday?! Why???!!_

But could he really judge him? .........after all Ace decided to ignore the vision. 

_But I only see what is supposed to happen!! I am NOT able to change the future...._

Ace was suddenly feeling very sick. _And that's why you are going to stand by and watch how your dear friend gets slaughtered by a greedy Bastard_ , said a part of Ace mockingly.

_At the end you are not better than that black haired bastard of a traitor._

His chest was hurting again. His breathing was uncontrollably. He couldn't focus anymore. He felt how his body was shaking. His Anxiety was taking control over him again.

If he doesn't calm himself, he will be collapsing. The world around him is moving and his eyes were unable to see anything. His body trembled. He shut his eyes and closed with his hands his mouth.

Until a voice spoke up and got the second commanders attention. 

"Ace, what's wrong?", spoke Marco softly.

A strong and firm hand was placed on the back of Ace and soothing him immediately. 

"Calm down, take deep breaths..",while the first commander spoke, Ace opened his eyes and removed his hands from his face. While he tried to control his breathing, Marco took with his other hand Ace's face and caressed the cheek of his lover lovingly. 

Finally Ace was able control his body again and calmed down. Nevertheless was his heartbeat beating fast. Ace could feel how his entire face heated up. 

He distanced himself from his perfect boyfriend embarrassed. 

Marco just laughed. And Ace could feel some heat rising up inside him. He looked at Marco and couldn't help himself to pout. Marco just smiled at him and blinded Ace nearly with that. His heart was nearly jumping out of his body as well. 

Suddenly Ace's heart had lost all its heat and turned cold when he looked into Marcos eyes.

It's not like Marco was mad. No even worse than that. Marco was scared.   
His eyes were filled with anxiety. 

"W-what?..." , was all that Ace could say. He knew that Marco was scared after what he had to witness just moments ago. It might have been worse than his other seizures while having nightmares. 

Ace also knew that he couldn't just walk away now. What now? 

It was impossible for him to tell Marco the truth. Why he himself was so frightened and what he saw. What he found out about Teach and his inherited ability. 

And he why he was going to die soon..

" Ace, just tell me please, yoi. I'm worried. You were acting weird the last three weeks.. " , Marco spoke with a concerned voice and was now moving slowly to Ace. 

The first commander was now approaching the second commander slowly as if not to frighten the second commander. 

Ace was panicking. His body was frozen while his entire conscience was screaming at him to just _run away_. Unfortunately, Ace just couldn't move.

All he could do was standing and facing the ground ashamed. 

" Ace...",Marco's face was now very close to Ace's face. 

Ace couldn't look to Marco's eyes anymore. And he didn't wanted to speak to him either. He just didn't had the strength to lie. Even if he lied and pretended to be fine, Marco would still see through that. So all Ace could do was staring at the ground and remaining silent. 

Marco sighed sadly. The first commander always knew how to read his beloved boyfriend. And he knew about his insecurities.

"Is it about your real old man again? " ,whispered Marco. Even though they are alone at the moment, he doesn't want to voice this topic out loud. 

Ace stiffened. It's true he was still troubled about his heritage and it took him a whole lot of confidence to reveal Marco his secret. At that time Ace even believed that the Phoenix would probably break up with him. Hating him. 

But instead Marco just hugged him tightly while telling him that they would always be together.

And Marco was doing now the same thing.   


" Ace, you really shouldn't worry about it. Nobody will hate you for it, yoi. Everybody loves you, yoi. I love you. ", Marco tightened his grip around him. "...and I will never let you go." ,added he quietly and kissed his freckled lover on the cheek. 

_Marco..._

Without permission escaped a single tear Ace's eye. _I'm sorry..._

Ace wasn't able to lie. And yet, he was now lying through a simple movement. He nodded weakly to Marco and hid his face in his neck. _I'm sorry... I really don't deserve you....._

"It's alright. We will get through this together. After all we are a family. We protect each other and help each other out, when facing hard times. " Marco was now patting Ace head."No matter what."

_Help each other out. No matter what..._

Somehow through Marco's words Ace found the courage and determination to finally decide what to do. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for supporting my first fanfiction. (｡’▽’｡)♡
> 
> And Marco is perfect boyfriend (Hubby) material ʕ•ε•ʔ

**Author's Note:**

> Thatch is such a sweetheart. In my opinion Thatch must have felt suspicious about Teach, but he didn't wanted to believe it. Or he was just afraid of the truth..  
> Well I don't have a beta reader so please don't get mad at me for the mistakes XD


End file.
